A subcategory of speed is quickness, which is the ability of the central nervous system to contract, relax or control muscle function without involvement of any preliminary stretch. Quickness is measured as the time interval or reaction time between voluntary stimulation and the initiation of movement. This time should be distinguished from absolute movement speed, which is the interval from the beginning to the end of movement.^[2]

Speed TrainingEdit

The quickest way to increase linear speed is through short sprints with full recovery (5-50m for team sport athletes) and improving technique.^[3] Weight training (via improving relative body strength i.e. strength/bodyweight) will help improve speed, however, without sprinting it will not have much of an impact on increasing speed.^[3] For the untrained athlete the quickest way to increase linear speed (as well as agility) is through improvements in body composition (i.e. losing fat if overweight or increasing muscle mass if underweight) and GPP (general physical preparation i.e. boosting general fitness and relative body strength). Max effort sprinting and agility training is not required until the untrained athlete has reached a suitable body composition and level of GPP, thus GPP is needed to build a strong foundation from which to increase more specific components of fitness, such as speed or agility.^[3]

Steve "Pre" Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American long distance runner who once held the American record in every event over a mile: 2000m, 3000m, 2-mile, 3-mile, 10000m, and 6-mile^[4]. He is considered to be among the greatest and most inspirational runners ever to have lived. All of his fans were known as “Pre’s People”, and would chant, “Pre! Pre! Pre!” over and over at competitions^[5]. Prefontaine had one leg longer than the other. He is also known for his extremely aggressive "front-running" racing style and for always believing in giving everything he had to win. Prefontaine's life was brought to a tragic end from a car crash at the age of 24. His three-mile and six-mile records are still standing today.^[6].